West Brom vs Middlesbrough prediction 16.01.2026 | Championship

After relegation from the Premier League in the 2020/21 season, West Brom haven't been great in the following four seasons, securing a playoff spot only once. However, this season has been a pure disaster as they are in 18th place with 31 points from 26 matches. The Baggies are closer to the danger zone (seven points) than the playoff spots (10 points). The main issue for the Baggies this season is their atrocious away record, with just 9 points from 14 games. That is almost 1.2  points per game less than at home.

Due to bad results, the club decided to sack coach Ryan Mason in early January and appointed Eric Ramsay on 11th January. This will be his debut as a head coach in European football, since his only experience was in Minnesota from March 2024 until January 2026. During his official interview as a WBA manager, the young coach emphasized that this team is constructed to win games, but they have to start building confidence and competitive belief. The coach also added that he has been studying WBA's matches this season to better understand the squad. 

Middlesbrough are playing their ninth consecutive season in the Championship, where they have mostly been in the upper half of the league's table. Still, they only had two Playoff appearances. This season, the popular Boro are looking to avoid the Playoffs and secure direct promotion. Unfortunately, after a magnificent first part of the season, they had a terrible period around Christmas, winning one point in four games. They eventually stopped that with a 4:0 win over Southampton and will be looking to continue collecting points in the Championship against a motivated WBA. 

After a 3:1 loss to Fulham in the FA Cup, coach Kim Hellberg spoke to the media. He said he had mixed feelings because they had a good chance to win. "I was impressed with how we played – a lot of good things – but was disappointed we didn't win the game," the coach added.